Abductions & hijacking human rights

Thu, 2006-03-02 13:25  moderator

[b]Abductions & hijacking human rights [/b]

By Janaka Perera

Having read in the March 1 [i]The Island [/i]the best LTTE joke in 20 years (Tigers committed to champion human rights in EU Parliament) the attempt to abduct veteran journalist and [i]Asian Tribune [/i]Advisor H.L.D. Mahindapala at Geneva on February 22 seems to us another strange expression of LTTE’s "commitment to human rights!"

All those who do not subscribe to the Tigers' 'HR' agenda have undoubtedly breathed sighs of relief that the LTTE abduction attempt failed. Condemning the Tigers for the attempt – or for that matter any other of their despicable acts - would obviously serve no purpose. A skunk is always a skunk. Does it care a hoot when, where or how many people or how many times it is called a skunk? (A host of clowns are already preparing to bathe the skunk in perfume at the EU Parliament on March 7)

Nevertheless, many Sri Lankan patriots are surely curious to know the response of some of the vociferous free media champions to the abduction attempt. The world has witnessed how these defenders of freedom of expression exploded in 'righteous anger' whenever a pro-LTTE journalist met a violent death but became tongue tied or begin to stammer when a journalist falls victim to Tiger bullet. They largely ignored LTTE's attack on the Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) in London among other Tiger acts of violence against the media both in Sri Lanka and abroad.